houston



(N0 ModeL) J. GILSGN 8: J. W. HOUSTON.-

SAND BOX FOR STREET CARS.

No. 319.697. PaJtent d June 9, 1885...

Fig? -1 E L JESSE NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES GILSON AND JOHN W. HOUSTON, OF PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND.

SAN D-BOX FOR STREET-CARS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 319,697, dated June 9, 1885. Application filed January 13. 1885. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, JAME$ GILSON and JOHN W. Hous'ron, of the city and county of Providence, and State of Rhode Island, have invented a new and useful Sand-Box for Street- Bailway Oars,of which the following is afull, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification.

Ourinvention relates to that class of devices which are designed to prevent the slipping of tramway-cars upon their tracks during rainy, snowy, or other inclement weather; and the object of our invention is to provide asimple and compact sandbox which may be convenientl y operated by the driver at his station upon the platform,and which shall not occupy any objectionable space within the car-body.

To the above purposes our invention consists in the peculiar and novel construction of the sand-box, and also its operative connections, as hereinafter described and claimed.

In order that ourinvention may be fully understood, we will proceed to describe it with reference to the accompanying drawings, in Which- Figure l is alongitudinalvertical section of atramway-car with our improvements applied. Fig. 2 is an under side plan view of the same. Fig. 3 is a detached view,in section, of a portion of the platform with our improvement applied.

In the said drawings,A designates the body, a the platforms, and B the running-gear, of a street or tramway car. O designates one of the seats for passengers, which runslongitudinally of the car against its side, and c designates one of the wooden facings which are usually employed to inclose the spaces beneath the seats.

D designates a sand box or hopper, which is placed midway of thelength of the car beneath the seat, one such box being located at each side of the car and between the two sets of wheels. A portion of the seat directly above the hopper is hinged so as to form a cover,by raising which access is had to the interior of the hopper. As shown in Fig. 1, these hoppers may be each set within a compartment formed by the side and floor of the car-body, the seat and its facing, and the partitions d.

An opening is formed in the floor coincident with the convergent open bottom of the hopper.

E designatesa valve-casing,which is set beneath the car-body and arranged to communicate through the hole in the floor with the interior of the hopper. This casing is formed, preferably,of metal,and contains a valve-arm, e, which is a flat arm pivoted at one end to one side of the casing E, and working over the outlet of said casing. By this arrangement it will be seen that when the arm 0 is in one position the outlet-opening of the casing E is closed, while if said arm be thrown in the opposite direction the outlet will be opened.

6 designates a pipe which extends down ward from the outlet-opening of the casing E to a point near the rail R and near to one of the wheels. As shown in the drawings, this pipe should be curved, because if straight it would not feed the sand to the rail when the car is running on a curve. The pipe 0' should be surrounded by a tube, e, so that in cold weather there will be less liability of any freezing of moisture in the sand.

F designates a spring, one end of which is secured to the outer end of arm 0, and the opposite end of which is secured to the lower end of a hanger, f, secured beneath the carbody. These springs act contractively upon the arms 6, so as to keep the valve closed. These arms 6 are to be operated by the driver upon either of the platforms,and for this purpose a rod or cord, 9, is run from the outer end of each arm, and said cords are united to the inner end of a rod or cord,G,which latter is connected at its outer end to the arm h of a lever, H, secured to the platform convenient to the drivers foot. This lever is mounted in supporting-frames h,to one of which it is pivoted beneath the platform. Said lever is also formed with a stem, it, having an angular upper end,and extending into,but preferably not above, an opening formed in the platform.

H designates a key or foot-dog, which has an angular socket, h to extend down into the opening in the platform and receive the angular end of the stem 7L2. Thus when the driver pushes the dog H with his foot the valves will open and the sand will flow out upon the tracks, and this should be done just before applying the brakes. The arm h should be formed with a lip or flange, h, to prevent rod or cord G from slipping oil of the arm.

In order to operate the valves from the opposite platform of the car,a cord or rod, 9, is run from the arm hupon the opposite platform, thence around a drum, I, or similar device mounted beneath the car-body, and thence to a connection with the inner end of rod or cord G.

, Thus it will be seen that the device is simple, compact, and occupies no space otherwise required. The dog H should preferably be taken by the driver as he shifts the team from one end of the car to another, so that no tampering with the sand-box valves can occur.

Having thus described our invention, we

claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patentv 1. The combination, with the sand-boxes and the valve-arms e, of the connections 9 G H, constructed to operate the valves from either end of the car, as described.

2. The combination,with the sand-boxes,of the valve-arms e, the springs F, the connections 9, g, G, and H-,and the drum I, constructed and arranged to operate the valves from either end of the car, as set forth.

3. The combination, with the car-body, of the hoppers D, having the valve-casings E, with their arms 0, the pipes e, and tubes 6, the springs F, the drum I, the levers H, having the stems h and lips h, the dogs H, having the sockets h, and the cords g G g, as set forth.

JAMES GILSON. JOHN W. HOUSTON. 

